A/N: Forgot to add this last week.

First in a complete canon rewrite focusing on Jacob and Leah as a pair, and the pack as it grows.

Rated for language, sexual content, violence, drug/alcohol use.

Disclaimer: Not written for monetary gain. Canon and characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Thank you to Bludaze for being an awesome beta and a special shoutout to my longtime Blackwater bestie Kei Jones, without whom this monstrosity of a project would not exist. Our chats give me life ;D

Phrases/terms like "Cho-Cho" and "Lawotsokil" were found via the book "Twilight on the Thunderbird" by Howard Hansen. Further Quileute words or references can be attributed to this, as well.

Feedback is fuel :)

February 2, 2015

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Paul hadn't been exaggerating.

Jacob had barely gotten in the door, Billy rolling on his heels demanding to know what was happening, when the phone started ringing. He'd answered, expecting the same sort of welcome Paul had given him. That was not the case. Sam was pissed. Pissed at Paul for seeking Jacob out on his own and walking him through those first moments. Pissed at Billy for not letting Sam know just how close Jacob was to phasing; how serious the symptoms had become. Pissed at Jacob for… something. The latter wasn't made clear before Sam barked that he'd be over first thing in the morning and hung up.

"First thing in the morning" was a very literal statement.

Jacob woke to sharp banging on the front door made louder by his heightened hearing. He knew it was Sam before he'd even made it down the hall. Could smell him, though he wasn't quite sure how he recognized the scent. Maybe some sort of subconscious residue leftover from his human self. When he yanked the door open, Sam's bloodshot gaze was wide and immediately went in for the eye contact Paul had avoided the night before.

The beast in Jacob's chest was a little clearer now. It had been wild and raging when he'd first bolted from the movie theater and into the woods. He'd calmed himself enough to change back, and it had been quiet but there ever since. A weighty, knowing presence. Watching. Listening. Jacob woke up a few times in the night with his subconscious pulled away to some distant sound, or some faint smell he didn't recognize. The wolf on the lookout for danger. It was… comforting, in a way. Creepy in others. Like being possessed by something that wanted to protect him. A strange and contradictory thing.

The wolf did not like Sam. Whereas his interaction with Paul had been calm and anti-combative, Jacob immediately wanted to punch Uley in his smug face. It wasn't about his previous assumptions or what happened with Leah. There was something… deeper. Something under the skin. He shouldn't be Alpha, that fucking thing whispered through his blood. It should be you.

"You gonna let me in?" Sam's eyes were normally dark brown. The longer they studied Jacob's, though, his irises shifted to a luminant, cerulean blue. His wolf, sizing up this new player. "Jacob."

Shaking himself, Jacob stepped to the side and waved an arm, silently inviting him in. "Kitchen. I don't wanna wake Billy."

Sam's shoulders tensed but he kept walking. "Paul told me what happened last night. Going back for the car was fucking stupid, Jacob. You could've been seen."

"What would they have seen? Some naked guy from the rez streaking to his car?"

Both of them in the kitchen was almost too much. The air felt thick… nearly solid. It was hard to breathe. Sam leaned against the counter and Jacob, feeling more and more like this was some kind of stand-off, broke away and sat at the table. Sam folded his arms across his chest. "This isn't a game. What we do is life and death for the people in this community. It's our job to protect them. We can't do that if we get caught up in some media frenzy because one of us was too stupid to cover his tracks."

"Yeah, I gathered that. I was human when I came out of the woods. No reasonable person is gonna see me naked with a shirt covering my junk and think, oh, man, I bet he's some kind of freaky wolf shifter." Jacob leaned back, away from the growing tension. "It wasn't a big deal."

Sam's whole body was pulled taught. He looked moments away from phasing, or whatever Paul had called it. "I determine what's a big deal and what isn't. It's my job to keep this pack in line. Understand?"

"Yeah." Jacob's jaw spasmed. "Yeah, I understand."

"Good. Now, the rules." Jacob half expected Sam to pull a notebook from his jeans pocket. Instead, he held up a hand and started ticking fingers as he spoke. "One: once you're assigned to shift, no swapping. I make the schedules the way they are for a reason. As of now, you'll be running nights, seven to two, on weekdays. Mornings, two to eight, on weekends."

Jacob held up a hand, as if asking for permission to speak in class. It was a shitty, smart-assed thing to do, and Sam knew it. He didn't wait for approval before saying, "I have school. So does Embry. It's our senior year. How do you expect me to run all night and then go to school all day?"

"Not my problem, Jacob. School is important. Vampires are more important. You'll figure it out. Any other questions about schedules?"

Sam didn't wait. "Two: you tell no one about this. Billy knows because he's on the Council, Rachel because of Paul, but that's it. Not Quil, when he asks, and we both know he will. No one." Sam stared at him for a beat and then, "If or when you imprint, that will be the exception. You'll bring her before myself and the Council and we'll all talk her through it. Do not attempt to do it on your own. Understand?"

"You don't think Quil will find it strange that both of his best friends just randomly turned into hulking giants and started running around with you? I mean, Sam, everyone is talking about it and –"

" – and nothing. Quil can think what he wants. They all can. What's important is that we're all on the same page." Sam's biceps and shoulders tensed reflexively. "Are we on the same page?"

Jacob shook his head. Did Sam think he was intimidating? Did he think this little interrogation and size flaunt were going to cow Jacob into doing what he said? Was that how he'd done it with the others? The wolf in his chest balked. He's not the Alpha. Jacob felt his skin starting to prickle in anticipation. His bones ached. "People have a right to know they're in danger." Sam's eye twitched, and Jacob knew this was headed south if he didn't stop it. "But you're the boss. It's whatever you say."

"That's right. I am." Sam didn't say anything else. He let the silence stretch for a solid minute and then, "You come from a long line of Alphas, Jacob. It only makes sense that you'd be one, too. But I've been running this show from the start. I was first. I've been the one on the front line. These are my wolves, and this is my pack. If you want it, you'll have to take it."

The thing in Jacob's chest wanted to. Wanted to knock Sam off his high horse and put him in his rightful place. Jacob, on the other hand, was less interested. Between school, his dad and sister, his home, his job, and now his obligation to the pack, he was stretched thin. Being in charge of them all was an extra responsibility he didn't want to worry about. It still chafed to tell Sam that.

"I don't want to be Alpha, Sam."

"You say that now –"

" – And I mean it. I have enough on my plate, and I plan to stop being… this as soon as it's possible. I'm not a threat to you. If that's what you're doing here – putting on a show and feeling me out – you're wasting your time. You can have it."

Sam made a sharp noise through his nostrils. "We'll see." He straightened as they both heard footsteps padding down the hall. Rachel appeared in the threshold to the kitchen, hair in a bun hanging off one side of her head, eyes in slits, and face puffy from sleep, wearing one of Paul's shirts. It made her smell like him. "Didn't mean to wake you, Rachel."

"Well, you did." She eyed Sam as she moved into the room and took the chair across from Jacob. "The sun's not even up yet."

"Jacob and I had some things to discuss." He glanced between the siblings. "We're done. I'll see you both later."

Sam didn't wait for them to respond. The door clicked shut, and still, they waited. After about a minute, Rachel asked, "Is he gone?"

"I think so." He stretched his hearing outward, searching for footsteps, or a heartbeat, or breathing, and nodded. "Yeah, he's gone."

Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled her legs up, wrapped her arms around her shins. "He's such a dick."

"Did Paul get in trouble about last night?"

"He did, yeah." She waved it off. "Wasn't your fault. He told me the whole story. Sam's just pissed because there's a wolf that outranks him in the pack now. No one really knows what that means. Like, you might not even have to listen to him. Has he given you an order yet?

"Gave me the rule rundown. That's it."

"Yeah, those were orders. Paul and the others call it being "gagged". They can't tell anyone about the wolves or vampires. Once an order is given, it's like having magical cuffs on. They literally can't open their mouths and say the words."

Jacob lifted a brow. "And you? Are you gagged?"

"Not by magic, no. But the order still stands. I run my mouth, the Council gets involved. And knowing Sam, Paul would probably get in trouble."

"Has he always been like this?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. I mean, he dated Leah for, what, three years? I was around him the whole time. He was nice. Chill. I'll admit he wasn't a whole lot of fun, but he wasn't this controlling fucking lunatic."

"Could be the wolf, I guess." Rachel raised a brow in question. Jacob said, "It's weird. Like I'm sharing space with this… beast. It doesn't have a voice or speak, exactly, but when there's something it feels or… thinks, I guess, I can sense it. It doesn't like that Sam's Alpha. Maybe Sam's wolf feels threatened because it knows it isn't supposed to be."

Rachel tilted her head in acknowledgment. "Maybe. Like, always in defense mode."

"Exactly."

Jacob didn't want to talk about Sam anymore. He rapped a knuckle on the table and said, "Alright, birthday girl, you want your gift now or when I get home from school?"

"Birthday girl?" Rachel snorted. And then sat up, legs bouncing. "Now, of course! I'm going out with Leah today. What if I buy myself the same thing you got me? Then you'll have to get me something else."

Jacob rolled his eyes but got up to fetch her gift all the same. He'd pulled a board up in his room, under his bed, and had hidden the small box there. It was a little excessive, but Rachel was sneaky. She'd found every birthday present he'd gotten for her until he was in tenth grade, and that was only because he'd started hiding them at other people's houses. She was bursting with anticipation when he reentered the kitchen.

"Here." He passed it off to her and sat back down. "Don't scream. Dad's still asleep."

She only just stopped herself from doing exactly that. "You got them. How did you get them? Where did you get them?"

"I have my ways."

Rachel set the concert tickets down gingerly on the table, like a bend or slight disruption of the ink might invalidate them. She rounded the table and flung her arms around his neck. Squeezed. "There isn't a better fucking brother out there."

"I know."

She released him. Poked his shoulder, his bicep. "Damn, man. You're like a rock." Before he could answer, she asked, "How'd it go with Bella last night?" Her eyes blew wide. "Oh, shit! Was she with you when, y'know…" she waved her hand around his chest as if that said it all.

"I got away in time." Jacob hadn't thought much about Bella since phasing. Had been trying really hard not to. He glanced up at Rachel's face and then to his hands, palm up in his lap. "She kissed me. Told me she liked me, and then kissed me."

Rachel whistled low. "Shit. That's – shit."

"Yeah, shit." He shook his head and sat up. "I don't wanna talk about it. About her. Where you going today?"

"Port Angeles, probably. Do some shopping. Get some lunch."

She pulled her phone from the pocket of her sleep shorts, tapped the screen.

Jacob watched her previous excitement and happiness fade. "I'm sure she'll call, Rach."

"Why? She hasn't in months."

"It's your birthday." A birthday she and Rebecca shared. But then Beck hadn't called for his birthday last month, or Billy's a few months before. Still, Jacob didn't want Rachel worrying about that now. "Any idea what Leah got you?"

Rachel snorted and put her phone away. "No. I'm sure it'll be good, though. Always is." She was frowning again. "I feel bad not telling her. About Sam."

Jacob shook his head. "How have you kept it from her this whole time?" He raised a brow. "How'd you and dad keep it from me?

"I mean, it sucked. We've never kept secrets from each other. Any of us. But… I don't know. This seemed like such a big deal, and the Council pulled me in for a 'meeting' at City Hall and made it sound like I'd get in trouble if I said anything." Rachel leaned a hip against the table. "Then there was the fact that I wasn't even sure how to accept the whole thing. Paul came into the store, same as he'd done, like, a thousand times before. He walked up to the counter and then… bam. He dropped what he was holding and just stared. Like I was a fucking glowing fairy or something. Next thing I knew, they were summoning me and telling me that I was Paul's imprint. The wolves. The vampires. It was a lot."

"How did that work? The whole imprint thing?"

"I wasn't really convinced if that's what you're asking." Rachel snorted. "C'mon. You are his fated mate, chosen by our ancestors to carry on the line of lawotsakil that will protect this tribe for years to come." They both laughed, because her Harry Clearwater impression had always been bizarrely accurate. "Honestly, I thought they were all nuts." Her smile faded and she picked up the end of Paul's shirt, rubbed the material between her fingers. "But then he was showing up here almost every day – you remember. Just to be around me. Didn't try to force me to talk to him. Was quiet when I was quiet. Did whatever I asked. Believe me, I tested it out. The whole thing felt fucking wrong to me. Like he'd been cored and dug out and there was just this shell of a person desperate to please me."

Jacob sunk deeper into his chair. Imprinting sounded like a fucking drag. "He seems okay now. What'd you do? Just accept him?"

"You know me better than that." Rachel shoved his leg with her foot. "Fate or no fate, I'm not saddling myself with someone I'm not compatible with. So, I told him that. Told him I wasn't gonna do this if he was gonna be this inanimate, lifeless critter following me around, beggin' for scraps. I told him to just be himself. His real self. No swag bullshit or trying to impress me." She shrugged and he saw the corner of her mouth tipping upward; a small, private smile. "So, he did. We started talking and texting and, eventually, he asked me out on a date. It's been good ever since."

Jacob hummed in acknowledgment. That was something, at least. "What about the others? Jared and Kim, right? Sam and Emily?"

"Hah!" Rachel shoved off the table and opened one of the cabinets, poured herself a glass of water. "Kim was only too happy that Jared was interested, finally. She's been crushing on him for years. She fell at his feet and it's hard to tell who worships who in that scenario." She took a long pull and Jacob could hear every constriction of her throat as she swallowed. He tried to shake himself. Refocus his hearing on something that didn't make him cringe. "Sam and Emily were a shitshow," Rachel continued. "He phased and basically fell off the face of the earth for a few weeks. Came back and apologized to Leah but wouldn't explain. You remember? She was worried. Confused. He acted like all was well, but she could tell something was going on. And then Emily comes to spend the weekend, he shows up at Leah's house to talk, and it was basically like with Paul. He sees Emily, jaw drops, drool starts flowing –"

" – bullshit." Jacob laughed, "Shut up."

"I mean, basically! Leah said he didn't even try to hide it!"

"Yeah, I know. She told me he stuttered for a solid minute, couldn't put any of it together, and then tore out of there without an explanation."

Rachel, rummaging through the fridge, settled on a bright green apple. She took a bite, and Jacob winced at the sharp sound it made against her teeth. He really needed to get this under control. She said, "Sam ghosted Leah for the next week, dodging all her calls and texts, and next thing she knows, Emily is calling her, telling her that Sam's contacted her and is basically trying to slip in there. Leah's pissed, of course. Embarrassed. When he finally shows up at the Clearwater's, she's enraged, and Sam doesn't help matters. Tells her he's sorry but there was just something about Emily. That maybe he and Leah weren't meant to be if he had these feelings for her cousin. Breaks it off with her right there."

"And then starts dating Emily." Jacob shook his head. "Sam's got the imprint. What's Emily's excuse?"

"No excuse. Just a heartless bitch looking for a way to seem important. This was her chance. Quileute's first imprint in centuries." Rachel scoffed. Chewed. Swallowed. "She's right there with Sam, acting like Queen Wolf, thinking she can boss me and Kim around. As if."

The alarm on Jacob's phone went off in his room and he groaned. Rachel snorted, finished off her apple. "Awh, poor J. Have fun at school. I'm going back to bed for a few hours."

She tossed what was left of her apple in the trash, flounced out of the room, and he let his head fall back against the chair, staring up at the ceiling. School wasn't usually a chore for him. Jacob enjoyed it for the most part. Today, though, he wanted nothing more than to go back to bed and just zone out for the next few hours. Moving into the end of the school year and graduation, he couldn't afford to miss. So he stood, stretched, and headed for the shower.

.

Jacob pulled the rabbit into the driveway and parked behind Leah's car – a relatively new Ford Focus Harry had bought for her when she graduated last year. His foot caught under the brake pedal when he tried to switch, and he jerked and skidded to an ungraceful stop a scant few inches from her bumper. Jacob only just suppressed the growl clawing from his chest to his throat.

This entire day had been one nuisance and inconvenience after another.

His clothes were too small. His car was too small. He could smell everything; overwhelming perfumes and musty body odors and processed frozen meals being heated all crammed into his tiny ass classrooms. Then there were the sounds. Clicking pens and shifting feet and coughing and chewing gum and breathing. He'd never been so annoyed. Had never wanted so badly to do violence.

Jacob's phone buzzed in his bookbag. He fished it out and blinked at Paul's name.

Warning: Sam's pissed that you went to school today. Probably on his way to you.

Frowning, he typed a response. He didn't tell me not to. How the hell was I supposed to know?

Told ya. Two weeks is the min.

Jacob took a deep breath. Refocused on Leah's car in front of him. Shit. Leah.

Thanks, he shot back to Paul, and then got out and jogged up to the front door. He didn't want to be responsible for what would happen if Sam and Leah were in the same room. The moment he walked inside, though, she was on him. Everyone, all day long, had obsessed over how different he looked. You're so tall! You're, like, beefed! What the hell are you on?

Leah was a little different. She knew him as well, if not a little better, than his sisters and best friends. They'd always had a good connection. An easy rapport. She'd never had to pretend with him, and he could be himself with her. So when she walked up to him, eyes wide, he didn't try to act like all was well.

"What the hell, Jake?"

"Happy to explain, but forewarning, Sam is probably on his way."

Rachel's head popped around the corner from the kitchen. "Paul?" When Jacob nodded, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Shit."

"Why is Sam coming? What does Paul have to do with anything?" Leah looked between Rachel and Jacob and, voice raising a little, said, "Will someone tell me what's happening?"

On cue, Jacob heard steps crunching on the gravel out front. "I'll tell you everything. Lemme deal with him first." Leah frowned, the stubborn set of her jaw a good indication that she was ready to hold her ground, even if that meant facing Sam down. Jacob started walking forward, forcing her backward towards Rachel, who was waiting at the start of the hallway. "I promise, Leah."

That was all it took. She glanced at the front door, back to his face, and nodded. "Fine. Hurry up."

Jacob's phone buzzed again. Bella.

R u ok? Charlie said mono?

Mono? Jacob groaned and resisted the urge to throw his phone. She probably thought she'd been exposed.

Sam didn't bother knocking this time. Just walked in, shoulders back and chest out, and pushed right into Jacob's personal space. "You went to school?"

"Yes, I did."

"Are you fucking crazy? Trying to get someone killed?"

Sam was nearly nose to nose with him now, but Jacob kept his eyes to the left. "You never said –"

" – Common sense, Jacob. You're brand new at this and –" Sam's nose flared and his eyes darted to the hall. Quietly, he asked, "Leah's still here?"

Jacob, expression dry, nodded towards the door. "Her car is outside. Yeah. She's here."

All the fire fueling Sam's rage seemed to go out at once. He took a single step back. Took a deep breath. "I don't need to tell you how dangerous this can be. I –" The muscles in his neck spasmed. His voice was even lower when he said, "I thought I could handle it, too. And then I phased and – and nearly killed Emily. You've seen her face. Her arm. I did that, Jacob. Imprint or not, can you imagine – imagine if –"

All the anger Jacob had for Sam, all the crap he'd pulled since phasing, him being a dick, throwing his weight around, evaporated as the other wolf seemed on the verge of hyperventilating. The posturing and peacocking ceased abruptly and the man before him was just that… just a man. A man whose life had been upended, who'd been forced to deal with it on his own, without others there to explain what was happening and tell him it would be alright. Jacob felt a surprising surge of sympathy as Sam's palm flattened on his stomach and his eyes darted to the floor.

"Can you imagine being responsible for something like that?" he finished, still looking down. "Do you want that on your conscience?"

Jacob didn't want to say that, despite the annoyance of his heightened senses, he hadn't felt out of control since the first time he phased. Didn't want to say that, honestly, this whole thing had been kind of easy for him. It was equal parts bizarre and… natural. The monster under his skin was scary and insistent at times, but Jacob had no doubts that he was the one in charge. Sam probably didn't want to hear that as he was lamenting over his own lack of self-control.

"I understand what you're saying, Sam, but today was fine. I'm fine."

They both heard Leah whisper to Rachel that she wasn't going to hide in the bedroom like some scared little kid, and –

"Come with me," Sam said, and Jacob could tell it was an order. "We'll finish discussing this and then I'll show you the ins and outs of your patrol."

Jacob hesitated for a fraction of a second… and that was too much. Sam narrowed his eyes and said, more forcefully, "Come with me, now."

The magic slid over Jacob's skin like a breeze. There, but without any real force. Instinctively, Jacob realized that if he made it known to Sam that he didn't have to follow his orders, they would have a real problem. Something Sam wouldn't be able to skirt over in the name of peace.

He was torn.

Jacob had told Leah he'd explain things to her and didn't want to leave Rachel to deal with the fallout. But if he didn't do as he was told, who knows? Maybe Sam would lose it and attack him right here.

"Yeah," Jacob finally said, and Sam's narrowed eyes relaxed marginally. "Alright. Let's go."

Jacob tossed his phone and keys on the small table by the front door, left his shoes and his socks on the floor, and followed at a jog behind Sam, headed for the woods south of his house. A howl broke through the trees and echoed in the sky around them. The pack was waiting.

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Will be updating every Wednesday.